News

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and Citigroup have reached a settlement over allegations of fraud in the selling of $3.5 billion of mortgage-backed securities.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced Wednesday it has finalized amendments to the Ability-to-Repay rule first handed down in January this year. The rule, set to take effect January 10, 2014, establishes basic requirements designed to ensure consumers don't take on loans they can't pay back. According to CFPB, Wednesday's amendments are the result of months of input offered by industry groups and the public at large, embodying the bureau's efforts "to make reasonable changes to rule."

In Florida, ISGN Corporation announced the addition of former Xerox executive Nancy Alley as the company's chief product officer.

The National Association of Federal Credit Unions (NAFCU) offered a comment letter Tuesday addressing the Federal Housing Finance Agency's (FHFA) proposed restrictions on lender-placed insurance practices. In a response for the association, NAFCU senior regulatory affairs counsel Tessema Tefferi urges FHFA to scale back the discussed restrictions, which he believes are too broad. In addition, Tefferi asks the agency to ensure its policies and regulations are consistent with those already laid out in the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA).

Ellie Mae announced that Veterans United has selected Encompass360 as its mortgage management solution.

Mortgage refinance applications continued to suffer last week as mortgage rates climbed to their highest level in a year, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported in its Weekly Applications Survey. The survey's Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, declined a seasonally adjusted 8.8 percent for the week ending May 24, MBA reported. Unadjusted, the index dropped 9 percent week-over-week. The Refinance Index decreased 12 percent, the largest single-week drop in refinance volume so far this year.

Lender Processing Services' (LPS) Home Price Index (HPI) averaged $213,000 in March, an increase of 1.4 percent month-over-month and 7.6 percent year-over-year.

FirstClose, an aggregator in mortgage settlement services based in Austin, announced the hiring of Chip Caldwell to manage its Southeast territory.

Nearly one-quarter of Americans say they have encountered problems with their credit report, according to a survey from FindLaw.com, a legal information website. Twenty-three percent of Americans surveyed said they have had a problem with their credit report at one point or another, with inaccurate or outdated personal/credit information being the most common complaint. Other errors include incorrect credit scores and identity theft/mix-ups.

In Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, GMH Mortgage Services announced a strategic marketing alliance with Realty Executives Boston West. The new partnership will combine GMH Mortgage's lending expertise and new marketing technology platforms with Realty Executives' strong regional brand awareness.